Front Centre Sphere Weeping - Please Advise

[shaunlfc1]

Hey there,

 

Newbie here, I've just taken ownership of a 1995 Xantia 1.9 Diesel, cost me £400 and very happy with it. Its got a brand new MOT and drives very well.

 

Now I forgot to look at the advisory note for the MOT - a big mistake I know, Im usually eagle eyed like that.

 

Anyway, on it, it says the "Front Centre Sphere is weeping", is this something serious, and how easy is it to replace these spheres?

 

I thought there was one to each wheel, so where would the "Front Centre" one be, is it easily accessed?

 

Will the weeping cause any engine or ride problems?

 

Do I need a special tool to replace the sphere with?

 

All help would be most appreciated,

 

Many thanks,

 

Shaun

[DaveWalling]

Hi Shaun, welcome to the forum. The sphere you are talking about is the accumulator sphere and is located on the front of the engine, between the radiator and the engine block. It is green in colour and looks identical to the ones on the suspension. It is a fairly simple job to change, however I recommend that you get a hold of a Haynes manual for the procedure as it can be dangerous if not done properly, there is a lot of pressure in them and if not released in the correct manner can cause injury. I have included a link to download said manual (Download Part 1, then 2. When both are unzipped and run they form one pdf file.)

http://pdftown.com/Citroen-Xantia-Service-Manual.html

Replacement spheres are about £20 fom GSF.

[shaunlfc1]

Hi I can't see the link for the manual, please advise?

 

Cheers.....

[DaveWalling]

Sorry Shaun, I didn`t realise that you were reading the post. I had to submit the post and then go and get the link from another thread and then edit the reply to insert the link. I hope this helps.

You can buy a tool on ebay for about £15 or I think you can use a large pair of waterpump pliers. Personally I would go for the tool as it can be used for all the spheres.

[shaunlfc1]

Sorry was me being new to it all.

 

Downloading part 1 now.

 

Could I simply keep an eye on the level and keep it topped up for now?

 

I'll get round to doing the replacement soon enough. Thanks for your help. Next thing on the list is to repair door locks as key doesnt open the doors anymore, hopefully when I replace battery's in remote that'll make them work!

 

Cheers again....

[DaveWalling]

I would recommend that you change this sphere asap. In their infinite wisdom Citroen have used the hydraulic system for the suspension, steering and brakes. If I am right and Colin Hunter (I hope you don`t mind me calling you a Xantia guru Colin!!) will correct me if I am wrong, if this sphere fails you will lose the lot! It acts as a backup in case you lose the hydraulics for any other reason so allowing you to stop safely.

Oh, you will need to reprogram the key fob once you have replaced the batteries! If you check some of the older posts you can find out how to do this. Easiest thing to do is to do a search for it.